


The Colors of Freedom

by squireofgeekdom



Series: The Jacket Squad [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Gen, Synesthesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-11 02:21:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5610319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squireofgeekdom/pseuds/squireofgeekdom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finn gets some new artistic inspiration from Rey.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Colors of Freedom

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rimahadley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rimahadley/gifts).



> This fic briefly references Artistic Inspiration but you don't need to have read that for this to make sense!

The first time Finn hears Rey sing is after she comes back - back with Luke Skywalker, whose return has all the base set abuzz. 

Finn hears Rey’s voice before he sees her, singing a tune he doesn’t recognize. It paints the room in orange and gold, dipping occasionally into soft shades of ruby, and when he sees her the colors dance around her face.

She’s nestled under the engines of Poe’s X-wing, wrench in hand, away from the noise and attention. Poe is leaned up against the wing, tinkering with the cannons. When Poe looks up and sees Finn crossing the bay, he waves, though Rey doesn’t seem to notice him, continuing to sing. 

When he finally reaches the X-wing she does look up, and immediately stops singing. 

“No, you don’t - you don’t have to stop,” He manages to say, not quite sure of his footing. “Your voice looks beautiful.”

“Looks -?” She looks at Poe, who shrugs. 

“Yeah - the - the colors. They’re nice.” They both look befuddled. “Do you - do you not see them?”

“No?” Rey says. 

Finn ducks his head. “Heh. I guess it’s just me. Didn’t really hear a lot of music before, figured that - that was what it was like for everyone.”

Rey clambers out from under the engine, standing up next to him. “Can you show me?”

Poe follows them, distracted by his holocomputer, as Finn goes to retrieve the canisters of paint Sabine Wren had given to him. 

He tosses them around in his hands. “I don’t know where -”

Poe looks up. “The west wing of the south corridor. No one goes there, they won’t mind. We’ll tell ‘em it’s a new art installation.”

Finn looks at Rey. Rey shrugs.

They go to the west wing.

Finn fidgets in front of the wall. Rey looks at him expectantly.

“Could you - could you sing again?”

“Alright.” She starts to sing, the same lilting tune. 

It’s hard to pick out colors from the paints when the colors are dancing around him, but he remembers the labels well enough, and he had an idea of what colors he wanted to use from before. 

They don’t come out right, the colors of the paint are too simple to match the right hues, but as he layers them and sprays them together they get closer to what he sees. He’s not fast enough to capture the flicker of colors and notes, but he’s trying, trying -

After a while, the dancing colors fade. Rey has stopped singing. He steps back to see he’s covered most of the wall. 

“That’s amazing.” Rey says, awestruck. “That’s what my voice looks like?”

“Yeah. Yeah, a little bit. I didn’t - I didn’t get all of it.”

“I love it.”

Poe has looked up from his holocomputer to stare at the wall. “Finn - that - that’s beautiful.” 

“Th-thanks.”

Poe steps towards him, holding out the holocomputer. “Finn, I think you might be synesthetic.” He says, excitement and wonder in his voice.

Finn looks at the projected words.

Chromesthesia - common form of synesthesia - association of sounds with colors - colors associated with musical notes -

“That - it happens to other people? So - it doesn’t happen for everyone - but it’s not just me?”

“Looks like it, buddy.” Poe says, clapping him on the shoulder. “What about me, what does my voice sound like?” He lets out a few warbling notes.

“Blue. You’re blue.” Poe smiles, and he adds. “Like the sky, but - brighter.”

Poe’s smile widens. Finn has paint all over his hands.

“I’ve been meaning to redo the paint job on my X-wing for a little while. Would you - would you want to help?”

“Yeah. Yeah, that sounds great.”

So they find their way back to the hangar bay, Finn managing to track red paint across the base. Rey perches on the wing of Poe’s X-wing, watching Finn spraypaint over the body of the ship. 

“There -” She comments as he sprays a curving line in blue.

“What is it?”

“If you cut the line back down there -” She scoots over to point. “- and cut across there, it’ll be a jaebor. It’s a protective symbol on Jakku.” She adds when he looks confused. “It’ll help keep you safe.” She says, looking at Poe as he leans against the wing.

“Well, I can always use that.” Poe says with a smile, and Finn finishes the symbol at Rey’s direction. Rey smiles as she traces over it, staining her finger blue. 

“Is it good?” Finn asks Poe, stepping back to look at the finished product.

“It’s perfect.” Poe says, and Finn can finally believe it.


End file.
